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Leeds Cargo Airlines Flight 185
Leeds Cargo Airlines Flight 185 was a cargo flight operated by Leeds Cargo Airlines. On 6 May 2012, the Boeing 747 freighter flying the route between Leeds International Airport and Cologne Bonn Airport overshot the end of the runway at LIA, killing all 4 crew members. It was the first fatal air crash for Leeds Cargo Airlines. Aircraft The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 747-209F, registered L-DUDF. It was delivered new to FedEx Express (then called Federal Express) as N703CK in 1979 along with it's sister N704CK, which it will stay with for the rest of it's life until 2008. It first flew on 11 July 1980, before entering service in January 1981. In February 2001, it was sold by FedEx Express to the then newly-formed cargo airline Kalitta Air, where it was joined by it's sister N704CK several weeks later. On 25 May 2008, operating Kalitta Air Flight 207, the aircraft's sister N704CK crashed in Belgium. After this, another Boeing 747-200F crashed in July 2008 in Colombia, and N703CK itself suffered an in-flight malfunction in 2010 that led to it losing power to all engines for 3 minutes, before recovering them. As a result, Kalitta Air put all their Boeing 747-200Fs up for sale, and in April 2012 N703CK was bought by Leeds Cargo Airlines and re-registered L-DUDF. At the time of the crash, L-DUDF was still in Kalitta Air livery, although it was unbranded except for a single "Leeds Airlines Freight" marking on the tail, temporarily placed over the Kalitta Air livery. Prior to the accident the aircraft had flown a total of 120,560 hours. This included just 54 hours with Leeds Cargo Airlines. The aircraft, a Boeing 747-209F, had 4 Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7Q engines. The aircraft was written off in the accident. Flight history Flight 185 departed from the freight hangar at 0739 BST on 6 May 2012, and taxied to runway 12L. Due to severe turbulence at 1000 feet in the direct path of the take-off, the flight was stood waiting at the end of the runway for over an hour until it was finally cleared to take-off at 0848 BST. Crash At 0849 BST the aircraft began setting off down the runway. The pilots did mention that it seemed a bit sluggish, but they ignored it and continued with a normal takeoff routine. However it had still not taken off by the final quarter of the runway, and the pilots applied the full service brake and thrust reversers in an attempt to stop the aircraft as it was not able to take off. However it was too late and despite the braking, the aircraft rolled off the end of the runway at 0850 BST at approximately 40mph - which thanks to braking was slower than it would have been otherwise - and broke into three pieces (tail and rear-fuselage, mid-fuselage, and front-fuselage) off the end of the runway. The pilot, co-pilot, and first officer were all killed. A fourth crew member - probably in charge of checking on the cargo - survived and exited the aircraft via an inflatable slide at the front, but later died in hospital four days later. The crash was the 53rd hull loss accident involving a Boeing 747 since the type was first produced in 1969. It was the 28th hull loss accident involving a Boeing 747-200 since it was first produced in 1971. It was the deadliest accident involving a Boeing 747 since the crash of MK Airlines Flight 1602 killed 7 people in October 2004. Aftermath Fire officers arrived at the site at 0852, and found the aircraft to be fully loaded with a cargo of matches. As a result a HAZMAT was declared, citing Class 4 Flammable Solids, as the matches would have been thrown around and rubbed together, in the crash, creating friction and possibly starting a fire. The fire brigade started dousing the aircraft with water, targeting the inside first, and the HAZMAT was later removed at 1100 as the fire risk was stabilized. Meanwhile as the fire brigade tackled the fire risk, rescue workers and paramedics entered the aircraft at 0853. When they arrived, they found one crewmember had already escaped via an inflatable slide, and was waiting by the aircraft to show rescuers where the other crewmembers were. When they were found, two were already dead, and a third died after being put in an ambulance. They all died due to head injuries and internal bleeding, caused by being thrown violently around the cockpit by the crash. Meanwhile the police cordoned off a road close to the crash site, and LIA officials closed the airport temporarily before re-opening it (except for the accident runway) at around 1100. On 9 May, the fourth crew member was admitted to hospital with late-developing internal bleeding from the accident, and died at roughly midday on 10 May, bringing the death toll to 4. On 10 May the loading company - Swedish Match - were fined for not signing in the matches at the airport (which is compulsory under the Dangerous Goods Act worldwide), as matches are classed as dangerous goods on aircraft due to their combustible nature. They were further fined for overloading the aircraft. Investigation and causes An investigation was launched by the LATSB (Leeds Air Travel Safety Board) on the same day as the crash. Three possible causes have been put forward - overloading, an electrical fault, and low fuel. Overloading seems likely, as according to the fire brigade there were "matches everywhere" when they entered the aircraft. An electrical fault could be possible due to the sluggishness of the engines and a previous engine failure by the aircraft in 2010. Low fuel is certainly possible, as it was stood at the end of the runway for over an hour, with the engines at a medium power setting and burning off lots of fuel. A sample of the fuel tanks on 8 May showed that they were completely empty. However it was later found they leaked after the crash and later confirmed that at the time of taking off it was just a sixth full, or well below what it should have been. It was also found that the tonnage of the matches was six tonnes higher than the limit for the Boeing 747-209F. An electrical fault was ruled out as all hydraulics and electricals were working fine even after the crash. A final report released on 10 May confirmed the cause of the crash as a "runway overshoot, caused by sluggishness of aircraft movement as a result of overloading of the aircraft and low fuel due to a long wait with engines at high power setting on the taxiway before take off". Flight number and other incidents Shortly after the crash, Leeds Cargo Airlines changed the number of the monthly LIA-Cologne cargo service from 185 to 195. In August 2010, L-DUDF (then N703CK) suffered an in-flight incident. While flying between Florida and North Dakota in the USA with Kalitta Air, it suffered a malfunction that lead to all four engines shutting down. It rapidly lost all engines and then glided with no engines for three minutes, before regaining two engines and making an emergency landing in South Dakota with no injuries or fatalities. Due to the apparent sluggishness of the engines in Flight 185, a link to the Kalitta Air incident is being investigated.